Sunday, September 30, 2012

 

James Dean: Not Forgotten


It was stunning news, even to a nine year old.

On October 1st, 1955, I was with my dad, who had driven to the drug store on an errand.  I waited in the car and, when he returned, he had a newspaper, which he dropped in my lap.  On the first page, about half way down, there was a picture of him with the story of his violent death in a car crash.  James Dean had died the day before.

I couldn’t believe it.  I had just seen him on TV about a week before.  It was an episode of the Schlitz Playhouse production called The Unlighted Road.  The lead actor was this young man, James Dean.  I thought he was really cool and I liked him right away.  Cool guys appealed to nine year olds.

The media frenzy started immediately, but seemed to reach a peak in 1956, when his movies came out.  First was Rebel Without a Cause, a film that would become the legendary symbol of teenage angst and rebellion.  He was nominated posthumously for the Best Actor award by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Later was Giant, from the best-selling novel, in which he co-starred with Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson.  Looking back, it seems hard to believe how young they all were.

Weren’t we all.


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